


deck the halls

by imposterhuman



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bot Feels, Christmas Fluff, DUM-E is a good bro, Domestic Fluff, First Kiss, M/M, Mistletoe, Soft Bucky, Soft Tony, Tony has a heart, i love them so theres that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:07:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21882733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imposterhuman/pseuds/imposterhuman
Summary: Bucky wasn’t sure what to expect when he walked into Tony's lab, but it definitely wasn’t the whole area looking like it had been attacked by a Christmas monster. There were garlands everywhere, even on what he was pretty sure was an explosive. There was even a lopsided Christmas tree in the corner, surrounded by robots and one harried engineer.“DUM-E, if you try to put two red ornaments next to each other again, I’m donating you to a community college,” Tony scolded, snatching a bauble from the excited robot.It said a lot about Bucky’s life that it wasn’t the weirdest thing he’d seen that day.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Stark Robots
Comments: 15
Kudos: 353
Collections: Bots are People Too





	deck the halls

**Author's Note:**

> you can take the bots from my cold dead hands
> 
> enjoy!!

Bucky wasn’t sure what to expect when he walked into Tony's lab, but it definitely wasn’t the whole area looking like it had been attacked by a Christmas monster. There were garlands everywhere, even on what he was pretty sure was an explosive. There was even a lopsided Christmas tree in the corner, surrounded by robots and one harried engineer. 

“DUM-E, if you try to put two red ornaments next to each other again, I’m donating you to a community college,” Tony scolded, snatching a bauble from the excited robot.

It said a lot about Bucky’s life that it wasn’t the weirdest thing he’d seen that day. 

“What’s going on here, doll?” Bucky ventured cautiously. Sometimes, it was best to just let Tony do his Tony thing and not ask too many questions. 

Tony startled, throwing the ornament in his hand at Bucky reflexively. “I have a heart condition!” he hissed, clutching his hand to his chest. “You can’t scare me like that!”

Bucky caught the ball easily, examining it. “Did you paint this?” he asked, taking in the clumsily drawn lines. 

“Of course not, don’t be absurd,” Tony blinked and turned back to the sad-looking tree. “DUM-E did.”

“Oh, because  _ that  _ makes so much more sense. That would have been my second guess,” Bucky rolled his eyes, coming to join the semicircle of bots and Tony. “You still haven’t told me what you guys are up to.”

“We’re decorating for Christmas,” Tony explained, passing ornaments to the various robots. “According to Butterfingers, who apparently has picked up interior decorating, the lab wasn’t festive enough. So now it looks like Santa threw up in my very serious, professional laboratory space.”

The last bit was said with a pointed glare at the robots, but Bucky could hear the undertone of fondness that was always present when Tony talked about his creations. Despite Tony’s protests, it was clear that there was nowhere else the engineer would rather be.

Bucky couldn’t stifle his smile at the absurdity of it all as he watched U carefully hang a hammer on a low branch, causing the tree to tilt even more. Well, he figured, if you can’t beat them…

“Do you guys want help?” he offered. “I can reach the taller branches, if that’s a selling point.”

DUM-E, U, and Butterfingers appeared to seriously consider it, if the cacophony of beeping was any indication. Tony made a face at Bucky.    
  
“Rude and uncalled for,” he huffed, faux-angry at Bucky’s jab at his height. “I’ll have you know I’m average height. You’re just a giant, and that’s not my problem.”

Bucky chuckled, throwing an arm over Tony’s shoulder. In a totally platonic manner, obviously. There wasn’t even a little part of him that wished he could hold Tony like that all the time, or that wanted to taste the smile curving Tony’s lips, or anything like that. Not even a little bit. 

Okay, so maybe a little bit. Infinitesimal, really. 

Bucky maintained that it wasn’t his fault he fell for Tony. He challenged anyone to live in Tony’s magnetic orbit, with his contagious smiles and beautiful mind, and not fall a little in love with the man. It was inevitable that Bucky would. 

Besides, he was pretty sure he’d never seen anything more adorable than Tony decorating his lab for Christmas with his robot children, so sue him. 

“So,” he cleared his throat, trying to get his mind back on track. “Where should I start?”

“You and the utter travesty can go unpack that box over there,” Tony directed him and DUM-E with a point of his finger. “I think we have some more ornaments in it, maybe some garlands. Go wild, you two.”

Bucky walked over to the stack of boxes in the corner, letting the robot pick one off of the top to start with. “Careful,” he said, helping DUM-E lower it to the floor without dropping it. “There you go, you got it, bud.”

Tony was watching him oddly, but he said nothing, so Bucky shrugged it off. DUM-E was tugging at his sleeve, trying to get his attention like an excited child. Bucky opened the box with an indulgent smile, handing the bot one end of the garland that was inside. 

“Where do you want it?” he asked, deftly untangling the long strand of tinsel. 

DUM-E tugged him towards Tony’s main lab station, hanging his end of the tinsel with careful precision above it. Bucky hung his own part, hoping that it looked at least vaguely symmetrical. How DUM-E was better at it than he was, he didn’t know. It was a bit of a blow to his ego, he could admit. 

“Wanna grab another?” Bucky told DUM-E, doing his best to fix the garland. He didn’t think Tony would care one way or another, but it was a matter of pride at this point. DUM-E beeped an affirmative, speeding back towards the boxes. 

Bucky jumped in surprise as Tony sidled up to him, nudging him with an elbow. “Looking good,” he observed while Bucky tried to calm his heart rate down. 

“Not to brag, but I think DUM-E and I have a future in holiday decorating,” Bucky joked. “What happened to your tree?”

Tony cast a glare at the leaning tree. “I gave up,” he said, watching U and Butterfingers squabble over an ornament. “They’ll either miraculously succeed or fail miserably; either way, it’s the same amount of cleanup later.”

“They kicked you out, didn’t they?” Bucky teased with a grin.

Tony scowled. “Shut up,” he muttered. “It’s not my fault that I didn’t program them with taste. They wanted to put a  _ Hawkeye  _ ornament on there. That’s just blasphemy.”

Bucky barked out a laugh. “I dunno, I think Barton’s probably the best Avenger. He’s definitely the best dressed.”

“And with that, I’m leaving,” Tony announced. “I don’t have to stand for this slander. I’m going to go find someone who’s nice to me.”

As he turned to move, though, he ran right into the metal of DUM-E’s arm, who had returned from his search for more decorations. DUM-E made a dismayed noise, blocking Tony from leaving and holding something above his and Bucky’s heads. 

Tony realized what it was before Bucky did, if the blush on his cheeks was any indication. He looked at Bucky for a moment, then up at the mistletoe, like he couldn’t decide what to focus on. He ended up glaring at DUM-E.

“DUM-E!” Tony hissed, swatting ineffectually at the robot. Bucky had never thought a metal arm without a face could give them a shit-eating grin, but DUM-E was managing admirably. “Get that out of here!”

DUM-E refused to budge, stubbornly holding the mistletoe over their heads. He beeped expectantly. For a robot, he was startlingly expressive. Bucky wasn’t surprised; he was Tony’s creation, after all. 

“I’m sorry about him,” Tony turned to Bucky, still trying to move DUM-E’s claw from over their heads. “We don’t have to- DUM-E, shut up- do anything. He’s just playing around.”

Bucky swallowed around the dryness in his throat. Now was his chance, he figured. He probably wouldn’t get a better one; DUM-E could only play wingman so many times.“What if…” he broke off, taking a deep breath. “What if I wanted to?”

“Well, then,” Tony said, visibly startled. He was smiling, though, so Bucky decided to take it as a good sign. Hope was blooming in his chest that he couldn’t quash. “I’d tell you to get on with it, before DUM-E’s arm gets tired.”

Bucky leaned forward, meeting Tony halfway with his own lips. As his hands wound through Tony’s curls, he was pretty sure it was the best Christmas ever.

**Author's Note:**

> guys! ya girl is a useless lesbian who managed to get a date for tomorrow, despite being possibly the dumbest person ever, so wish me luck!
> 
> comments and kudos make me smile :))
> 
> yell at me on tumblr [@imposter-human](https://imposter-human.tumblr.com/)


End file.
